CHAPTER 2: Not Your Average Orc Assassin
I felt a light breeze against my face and opened my eyes to find grass all around me. The ground beneath me was solid (to my relief!) and the sun reflected off the grass so brightly that I had to turn and cover my eyes to sit up. I moaned a little bit as the shocking pain in my head became noticeable and I rubbed my head where I had first noticed the pain. Sure enough, there was dried blood and I sighed, wishing I had a mirror. I looked around, noting the hills covered in dry, dead grass and the blue sky, stretching far off into the horizon. I stood up and attempted to walk forward, but my foot struck something hard and I smashed, face-first into the ground. I looked up from the ground, cursing , and tried to find what I had tripped on. There, sitting on the ground by feet was my knapsack, the last thing I had expected to find. I sighed and picked it up. I swung it over my shoulder and started down the hill.
It was tough going and after about two hours of walking I found myself staring into a large forest. I blew a piece of auburn brown hair out of my face and carefully entered the forest. It was darkish and kind of scary. I looked around uneasily and kept up a quick pace, maneuvering over large tree roots and rocks of all shapes and sizes.
"Why do these things always happen to me?" I asked myself with annoyance, "I mean, it's not like Alicia would fall through a whole and wake up in some stupid big plain-like area and walk into a forest, not knowing where she was. And what about me? Oh, yeah, I'M THE ONE IN THE FOREST!" I practically screamed out the last six words and stopped walking, almost shaking with rage.
" Maddy, take a hold of yourself," I told myself, taking in deep breaths. "You'll find a way to get out of this-What the Hell!" I screamed and almost fell over as an arrow whizzed right past my nose. I stumbled backward and looked in the direction the arrow had come from. Just realizing that there were probably more arrows, I ran behind the nearest tree and looked around the side carefully.
"Hey, who's shooting the stupid arrows?" I mumbled and took a sharp intake of breath as another arrow landed near the tree I was behind. I quietly set down my pack and made my way around the other side of the tree.
"Ouch!" I muttered under my breath as my foot slid and hit a sharp stick, cutting through my jeans. "Oh why?" I whispered, desperately, feeling the blood dripping down my ankle.
Arrows continually shot on the other side of the tree and I sighed, relieved that my attacker hadn't noticed my leaving. I made it to the other side and ran, very quietly to a bush about four feet away and ducked behind it. Still, arrows were being shot to my former position I and almost laughed, realizing how stupid my attacker was. It was then that I became confused. The arrows were brown and fairly beat up. I walked slowly around the trees until I had a clear view of my attacker.
There, two small children huddled behind a huge tree root, shooting clumsily at the tree I had hid behind. I walked up behind them and put my hands on my hips, watching them, very amused.
"Did you get her yet?" I asked, holding back laughter.
"Oh, yeah, I think so." Said the one on the right, "She hasn't come ou-" He stopped and they both turned and stared at me, their eyes wide with fright and confusion.
"AHHHHHHHHH!" They screamed together and I put my hands out in front of me, shaking my hands fiercely.
"Wait, please! I'm not trying to hurt you. I'm not bad, I don't even have a weapon, see?" I said, desperately and showed them my empty hands. They nodded and the slightly taller one on the left stepped forward, nodding.
"Yeah, you're not bad," He said, and they both started giggling, "We thought you were an orc!"
"Thanks," I said sarcastically and they were both so helpless with laughter that I started laughing too. Not five minutes later we had stopped laughing and sat in a small circle, sharing a stale piece of bread.
"What are your names?" I asked, swallowing a piece of the bread with some difficulty.
"I'm Hallath, and this is my little brother, Beinion. We were separated from our parents when the orcs attacked our village and killed off all the others. We were going to Edoras to warn King Theoden. We got lost and then-" he cut off, giggling, "we found you."
"Oh, I'm sorry about your parents. Unfortunately we're kinda in the same position, you see, I don't belong her…I…well…let's just say I'm not familiar with your type of life, or anything from here for that matter. I probably have no way of ever getting back." They looked at me soberly and nodded. The smaller one, who seemed about five or six years of age hugged me and smiled.
"That's okay," he said, "If you don't find home, you can stay with us."
"That sound like a great idea!" I said enthusiastically, not wanting to hurt his feelings, and patted him on the back. "We should get going. No telling when we may meet up with some orcs."
"Yes," agreed Hallath, "You should have a sword. We'll use these daggers and the bow." He handed me a older-looking sword and we quickly packed up and started walking toward the tree I had first hid behind.
"Just let me get my pack." I said, and ran ahead and grabbed it, positioning it comfortably on my shoulders. "Umm, by the way, where exactly are we?"
"Fangorn Forest," Answered Hammolath, and in my mind, a million things began to clear up. I was now in Middle Earth.